The Emergency Medical Responders class at Laramie High School is taking steps to help students become state certified.
The EMR class teaches students essential emergency first aid skills. This allows the participants to render medical care as the first responder to an emergency situation and possibly go on to pursue an education and career in the medical field.
“I plan on going on to medical school and becoming a pediatric nurse,” junior Emma Mcgee said.
EMR class is currently learning how to observe a medical situation.
The students are also talking about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using the automated external defibrillator system (AED). An AED is a tool used by emergency respondents in the case of sudden cardiac arrest. The device analyses the heart rate and when a problem is detected an electrical shock is delivered to return the heart to its normal rhythm.
“We just learned to take vital signs which was pretty cool,” Mcgee said. “We also learned how to use an AED which is a portable defibrillator which was one of the favorite things.”
The students in the class have all learned how to work a defibrillator, take vital signs, move a body, and learned about taking care of infants. The class will learn about emergency deliveries toward the end of the semester.
This class covers a broad range of medical topics which allows the students to explore all different types of fields within the medical field.
Any of the students taking the EMR class can also become state certified.
The students do this by registering online through the Wyoming EMS Licensure system.
After you complete the online process you must attend and pass a Basic Life Support (BLS), CPR class and become certified in CPR. Students must pay a $5 fee for the CPR class and pass a five-psychomotor exam. This is all set by the state and students can miss no more than nine hours of class time.
They must also pass the state certification exam with an 80% or above. This exam is given at the end of the semester.
“I plan on getting state certified because as an EMR you work on an ambulance and you are basically a first responder and I think it would be fun to work in an ambulance,” Mcgee said.
This class is offered by LHS as an elective. It is in the handbook as a Career/Technical Education (CTE) elective available to sophomores and above.